Civilian PTSD Symptoms and Risk for Involvement in the Criminal Justice System

• Authors: Sachiko Donley, University of California, Irvine; Leah M. Habib, Emory University; Tanja Jovanovic, Emory University; Asante Kamkwalala, Emory University; Mark Evces, New York University; Glenn Egan, Emory University; Bekh Bradley, Emory University; Kerry Ressler, Emory University
• Journal Title: Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
• Volume: Volume 40, Number 4
• Publisher: American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law | 2012, Pages 522-529
• Type of Work: Article | Post-print: After Peer Review
• Subjects: Health Sciences, Mental Health; Sociology, Criminology and Penology; Psychology, Behavioral

Abstract

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has received considerable attention with regard to the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In studies of veterans, behavioral sequelae of PTSD can include hostile and violent behavior. Rates of PTSD found in impoverished, high-risk urban populations within U.S. inner cities are as high as in returning veterans. The objective of this study was to determine whether civilian PTSD is associated with increased risk of incarceration and charges related to violence in a low-income, urban population. Participants (n = 4,113) recruited from Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, completed self-report measures assessing history of trauma, PTSD symptoms, and incarceration. Both trauma exposure and civilian PTSD remained strongly associated with increased risk of involvement in the criminal justice system and charges of a violent offense, even after adjustment for sex, age, race, education, employment, income, and substance abuse in a regression model. Trauma and PTSD have important implications for public safety and recidivism.